Cairo
had been set aside as little more than a fortress beside the
Nile
, guarding a crossing point on the route between the ancient Egyptian cities of
Heliopoli and
Memphis
. When Arab general Amr Ibn al-Ass set up camp, he built a capital nearby, the
future foundation of
Cairo
.

The ancient part of
Cairo
city contains a bastion Egyptian Christianity, Coptic Cairo, and Ben Ezra
Synagogue.It is the oldest
synagogue in
Egypt
. It has been heavily restored.

The
Hanging
Church
is the most beautiful of
Cairo
ís churches.It has an ornately
decorated interior consisting of three barrel-vaulted, wooden roofed aisles,
ivory inlaid screens and a finely carved marble pulpit.